Method of casing tobacco



March 18, 1930. H. P. wURMAN METHOD OF GASING TOBACCO Filed March 10. 1926 Patented Mar. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES vPATENT OFFICE HARRY P. WURMAN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR'TO BAYUK CIGARS INCOR- PORATED, OF PHILADELII-IIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND METHOD OF CASING- TOBACCO Application filed March 10, 1926. Serial No. 93,546.

My invention relates to an improvement in the method of treating tobacco and more particularly to the step in the treatment of tobacco by which it is cased or moistened.

In the manufacture of tobacco products, particularly cigars, it is necessary to very carefully treat the raw tobacco before it may be fabricated, in order to make it lend itself to manipulation and use and to bring out to the greatest degree its inherent qualities.

The long leaf tobacco, used for cigars, when ripe is harvested and the leaves are formed into bunches, commonly called hands, with their butts bound together. The hands are hung until the tobacco is dry and then are baled, the bales being wrapped or boxed for shipment. j

In the baling of the hands of tobacco, the hands are laid in substantial parallelism with their butts adjacent and subjected to substantial pressure to reduce the bulk.

When the tobacco is to be used in, for eX- ample, a cigar factory, the packages are opened and the hands of tobacco therein separated and picked out individually. They are then individually moistened, or cased, by dipping in water, then subjected to heat and moisture in order to sweat the tobacco, stemmed and finally rolled, either by hand or machine, for the production of cigars.

In the treatment of the tobacco as heretofore carried out, the initial moistening or casing step has been slow and expensive and one requiring a number of employees and resulting in a substantial waste of the tobacco.

In casing tobacco by the method heretofore practiced, the packages of tobacco are opened on the ioor near a tank of water and the packaging removed. The hands are then pulled out of the bale manually and dipped in the tank, being then placed for transportation to the sweating chamber. Such a method of casing the tobacco not only requires several employees, but as is well known, in pulling the tightly packed hands out of the bale, many of the leaves are broken and rendered useless, which results in great loss if the tobacco be valuable, and in substantial loss in any event.

Now it is the obj ect of my invention to provide a method of casing tobacco which will eliminate the necessity for a plurality of employees, reduce the time element to a fraction of that required by the present method and eliminate loss of tobacco from damage to the leaves.

Having now indicated, in a general way, the nature, purpose and advantage of my invention, I will proceed to a detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings in which I have illustrated apparatus which I have found satisfactory for use in carrying out my invention.

In carrying out myinvention, the tobacco in the package in which it is received is positioned on a floor a near a tank b containing water and preferably mainly below the iioor level. The wrappings are removed and the bale of tobacco placed in an open mesh carrier or basket- 0. In placing the bale in the carrier, it is essential that it be so placed that the hands d be vertical, as shown in the drawing.

The carrier is provided with a bail e to which is attached a block and fall f supported from a traveler g, slidable on a track h above the floor a.

The carrier and contained bale of tobacco, positioned as indicated, is lifted by the block and fall and the traveler moved along track h until the carrier is directly over the tank b. The carrier and bale of tobacco is then lowered into the tank and allowed to remain about one-half minute. The carrier and contained bale of tobacco is then removed from the tank and the bale of tobacco sentforward to the sweating chamber.

On removal of the bale from the tank, the tobacco will be found to be thoroughly moistened throughout the bale due to the fact that, though the hands are tightly packed, the bale is permeated with air and in the vertical direction of the hands thereare innumerable spaces. When the bale is dropped in the water in a position such that the hands are substantially vertical, or lined in parallelism with the direction of descent of the bale into the water, the contained air between the leaves of a hand and between the hands is driven out by the water entering the spaces between the hands so that the entire bale is wetted in a small fraction of time.

It is preferable in the carrying out of my invention that the bale be dipped with the hands substantially vertical, since I have discovered that it is in this position only that the water will he drawn into the bale with incredible swiftness.

It will be understood that the apparatus described herein is merely illustrative and that the method in accordance with my invention does not require any particular apparatus.

I claim:

l. The method of treating a bale of tobacco consisting of hands arranged in parallelism7 including lowering the bale into water with the leaves composing the hands extending substantially vertically.

2. The method of treating a bale of tobacco consisting of hands arranged in parallelism, including lowering the bale into water with the leaves composing the hands extending substantially vertically, removing the bale from the water, and then separating the moistened hands.

In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, atPhiladelphia, 3rd and Spruce Sts., on this 5th day of March,

HARRY P. WUR-MAN. 

